Chrysanthemum plant name ‘Yobeth’

ABSTRACT

A distinct cultivar of Chrysanthemum plant named ‘Yobeth’, characterized by its uniformly mounded plant habit; decorative-type inflorescences that are about 3.6 cm in diameter; attractive reddish purple-colored ray florets and; numerous inflorescences per plant.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar ofChrysanthemum plant, botanically known as Dendranthema grandiflora andreferred to by the cultivar name Yobeth.

The new cultivar is a product of a planned breeding program conducted bythe Inventor in Salinas, Calif. The objective of the breeding program isto create new garden-type Chrysanthemum cultivars having inflorescenceswith desirable inflorescence forms and floret colors and good gardenperformance.

The new cultivar originated from a cross made by the Inventor inNovember, 1991, of the Dendranthema grandiflora cultivar Bravo (U.S.Plant Pat. No. 6,888) as the female, or seed, parent with anunidentified proprietary seedling selection as the male, or pollenparent.

The cultivar Yobeth was discovered and selected by the Inventor as aflowering plant within the progeny of th estated cross in a controlledenvironment in Salinas, Calif., in October, 1992. The selection of thisplant was based on its desirable inflorescence form and ray floretcolor.

Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by terminal cuttings taken in acontrolled environment in Salinas, Calif., has shown that the uniquefeatures of this new Chrysanthemum are stable and reproduced true totype in successive generations.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The cultivar Yobeth has not been observed under all possible environmentconditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations inenvironment such as temperature, daylength and light intensity, without,however, any variance in genotype.

The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined tobe the unique characteristics of ‘Yobeth’. These characteristics incombination distinguish ‘Yobeth’ as a new and distinct cultivar:

1. Uniformly mounded plant habit.

2. Relatively small decorative-type inflorescences that are about 3.6 cmin diameter.

3. Attractive reddish purple-colored ray florets.

4. Numerous inflorescences per plant.

The new Chrysanthemum is similar to the parent cultivar Bravo. Howeverin side-by-side comparisons under commercial practice, plants of the newChrysanthemum differed from plants of the cultivar Bravo in thefollowing characteristics:

1. Plants of the new Chrysanthemum are fuller and more dense than plantsof the cultivar Bravo.

2. Plants of the new Chrysanthemum flower about one week later thanplants of the cutlivar Bravo grown under natural season conditions.

3. Ray florets of plants of the new Chrysanthemum are reddish purple incolor whereas ray florets of plants of the cultivar Bravo are red incolor.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PHOTOGRAPHS

The accompanying photographs illustrate the overall appearance of thenew cultivar. The photograph at the top of the sheet comprises a sideperspective view of a typical flowering plant of ‘Yobeth’. Thephotograph at the bottom of the sheet comprises a close-up view oftypical inflorescences of the cultivar ‘Yobeth’. These photographs showthe colors as true as it is reasonably possible to obtain in coloredreproductions of this type. Floret and foliage colors in the photographsmay differ from the actual colors due to light reflectance.

DETAILED BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION

In the following description, color references are mae to The RoyalHorticultural Society Colour Chart except where general terms ofordinary dictionary significance are used. The following observationsand measurements describe plants grown in Leamington, Ontario, Canada,under conditions which approximate those generally used in commercialgarden Chrysanthemum production. One rooted cutting was planted in a15-cm container on Jul. 20, 1998 and plants were grown outdoors undernatural season conditions. Measurements and numerical values representaverages for typical flowering containers.

Botanical classification: Dendranthema grandiflora cultivar Yobeth.

Commercial classification: Decorative-type garden chrysanthemum.

Parentage:

Female or seed parent.—Dendranthema grandiflora cultivar Bravo,disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 6,888.

Male or pollen parent.—Unidentified proprietary seedling selection.

Propagation:

Type.—Terminal tip cuttings.

Time to rooting.—Seven to ten days with soil temperatures of 21° C.

Rooting habit.—Fine, fibrous and well-branched.

Plant description:

Appearance.—Perennial herbaceous decorative-type garden Chrysanthemum.Inverted triangle. Stems initially upright, then outwardly spreadinggiving a uniformly mounded appearance to the plant. Freely branchingwith lateral branches potentially developing at every node, whenpinched, about 10 laterals develop.

Plant height.—About 30 cm.

Plant spread.—About 43 cm.

Foliage description.—Leaf arrangement: Alternate. Length: About 4.7 cm.Width: About 3.5 cm. Apex: Mucronate. Base: Attenuate. Margin: Palmatelylobed, sinuses parallel. Texture: Upper and lower surfaces sparselypubescent. Veins prominent on lower surface. Petiole length: About 1.7cm. Petiole diameter: About 2 mm. Color: Young foliage upper surface:147A. Young foliage lower surface: 147B. Mature foliage upper surface:147A. Mature foliage lower surface: 147B. Venation upper surface: 147Ato 147B. Venation lower surface: 147B.

Inflorescence description:

Appearance.—Decorative-type inflorescence form with oblong-shaped rayflorets. Inflorescences borne on terminals above foliage, arising fromleaf axils. Disk and ray florets arranged acropetally on a capitulum.One inflorescence per terminal with numerous inflorescences per plant,about 10 per lateral stem.

Flowering response.—Under natural season conditions, plant flowers inmid to late September in the Northern Hemisphere about 73 days afterplanting, and flower for at least three weeks depending on weatherconditions.

Inflorescence bud. ( Before showing color).—Height: About 4 mm.Diameter: About 6 mm. Phyllary color: Close to 141A.

Inflorescence size.—Diameter: About 3.6 cm. Depth (height): About 1.1cm. Diameter of disc: About 3 mm.

Ray florets.—Shape: Oblong. Length: About 1.6 cm. Width: About 5 mm.Apex: Dentate. Margin: Entire. Texture: Smooth, glabrous, satiny.Orientation: Initially upright, then horizontal. Number of ray floretsper inflorescence: Typically more than 100. Color: When opening: Uppersurface: 59A, white at base. Lower surface: 59B, white at base. Openedinflorescence: Upper surface: 59B, fading to 59C to 77C to 77D; white atbase. Lower surface: 77C to 77D, white at base.

Disc florets.—Shape: Tubular, apex dentate. Length: About 3.5 mm. Width:Apex: About 1 mm. Base: About 1 mm. Number of disc florets perinflorescence: Typically about 12. Color: Immature: 154A. Mature: Apex:9A. Mid-section and base: White.

Peduncle.—Aspect: Flexible, angled about 45° to the stem. Length: Firstpeduncle: About 3.4 cm. Fourth peduncle: About 8.5 cm. Diameter: About1.5 mm. Texture: Pubescent. Color: Close to 147A.

Reproductive organs.—Androecium: Present on disc florets only. Anthercolor: 9A. Pollen: Scare, 9A. Gynoecium: Present on both ray and discflorets.

Disease resistance: Resistance to known Chrysanthemum diseases has notbeen observed on plants grown under commercial production conditions.

Seed production: Seed production has not been observed.

It is claimed:
 1. A new and distinct cultivar of Chrysanthemum plantnamed ‘Yobeth’,